While the Route 507 Rivalry hasn’t seen a football contest in 11 years, the Rainier Mountaineers and the Tenino Beavers treated each other like bitter enemies during their Week 1 contest in Rainier Friday, Sept. 6.
The contentious season opener concluded with a 43-7 Beavers victory and three ejections, including Tenino defensive coordinator JD Johnson and a player on each team after a Mountaineer body slammed a Beaver after the whistle.
Rainier was the primary recipient of the penalties as the Mountaineers played behind the chains for the majority of the night, and it didn’t help that Tenino rushed the football at will in an atmosphere that sounded comparable to a Beavers home game less than nine miles down Route 507.
“We’ve had problems with that in the past where some of our kids really lose their heads,” Rainier head coach Andy Bartell said of his team’s composure. “But I thought that we did a really good job keeping our composure after that moment. It could have blown up and gotten out of control there.”
The Mountaineers couldn’t quite say the same about the trajectory of the game. The Beavers, led by running back Michael Vassar, threw the first punch on offense as the senior rushed seven times on their opening drive and capped it off with a 16-yard touchdown and a two-point conversion to take a quick 8-0 lead.
Rainier appeared primed for a shootout in the first quarter. After an opening-drive punt, senior quarterback Jacob Meldrum kicked off the second drive with a 71-yard touchdown scamper on the first play to cut the deficit to a point.
The Beavers passing offense came alive thanks to a strong drive from sophomore quarterback Mason Metcalf. He found 6-foot-6 tight end Jack Burkhardt in double coverage for a 36-yard touchdown, and Tenino stretched the lead to 16-7 after another successful two-point try.
After Meldrum’s long touchdown, the Mountaineers offense fell out of sorts as any positive play was quickly countered with a negative play or a penalty. Following a long punt return by Tenino’s Austin Johnson, the Beavers set up shop at the Rainier 7-yard line and scored one play later on a Leland White touchdown to make it 23-7 at the end of the first quarter.
Five of Rainier’s six first-half offensive possessions included at least one play behind the chains due to self-inflicted errors, including a punt on fourth-and-40 with five minutes until halftime. Meanwhile, Tenino kept its foot on the gas pedal as Michael Lanning and Vassar each found the end zone to close the first half with a 36-7 lead.
“We ran the ball really well today and passed it around, as expected,” Tinnerstet said. “[On defense], there was one big play in the first quarter and then we pretty much clamped it down.”
Tensions between the neighboring squads reached their climax five minutes into the third quarter when Rainier sophomore linebacker Bryce Keller tussled with a Beaver blocker and proceeded to pick him up and throw him into the grass after the whistle. Both teams chirped at each other briefly before the two sides retreated to their respective sidelines. After a lengthy delay, the referees ejected Keller, a Tenino player and the Beavers defensive coordinator.
Rainier got a significant boost in penalty yardage and took its next snap at the Beavers 14 after its previous took place 35 yards back. But the Tenino defense held strong in the red zone and forced a fourth-down pass attempt from Meldrum to an open Brayden Walker, who couldn’t hang on.
Despite starting deep in their own territory, the Beavers wasted no time sticking the dagger into Rainier. Vassar ran 70 yards to the Rainier 24 before Parker Minerich dashed untouched to the end zone to extend the lead to 43-7.
Rainier had one final chance to reach the end zone with its starters on the field just before the end of the third quarter. Meldrum scored what looked to be his second rushing touchdown of the evening before it was wiped away by an offensive holding. On the next snap, his pass was intercepted.
“[There were] a lot of first-game issues, but that’s to be expected. We’ll clean that up and move forward. We need a good week of practice,” Tinnerstet said.
Tinnerstet liked what he saw from Metcalf in his first game of the season as the sophomore threw for a touchdown pass and managed the offense efficiently.
“He did great. [He made] great decisions with the football. He went through his reads. He didn’t look like a sophomore today. He looked like a seasoned veteran,” he said.
Bartell said the Mountaineers offense struggled with multiple-snap counts and low snaps, but he was impressed with Meldrum’s performance despite the loss.
“He played extremely well. I know he threw the interception late trying to make a play, but he put the ball on the money a couple of times. I thought his decision-making was really good tonight,” Bartell said.
On the opposite side of the ball, Bartell expressed his disappointment with the unit’s alignment and mental mistakes.
“Our outside backers are lining up too wide and making too big of holes. It’s just easy mental stuff. If you’re out of line, you’re already beat,” he said. “I don’t think it was an effort thing. For the most part, it’s just a mental thing. We’ve just got to get back to the classroom and shore that up.”
The Beavers head home to face Kalama at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 13, while the Mountaineers will travel to Raymond-South Bend at the same time and date.
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